The Final Day of a Supreme Leader
by Passive Pegasus
Summary: Numbuh 362 is nearing the end of her days in the KND. In fact, she's less than a day away from her decommissioning. But there's something she's been hiding, something she needs to confess. In the final, dark day of a Supreme Leader, everything comes clean. Well, mostly everything.
1. Brief

**This is kind of a one-shot, but it'll be in a few short installments.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door or any of the characters, settings, etc.**

* * *

I haven't got long, so I'll make this quick.

It seems I've gotten too old. I've reached the no-man's land between childhood and adolescence. It's too late for me. So I'm being decommissioned.

But they don't understand.

There are things they don't know, things that shouldn't exist in the first place. But I found out. And I've kept it hidden all this time.

Now they need to know. Numbuh 1 was transferred to the Universal K.N.D. a few years back, and my most trusted members have already been decommissioned.

I still see Fanny now and then. She doesn't remember me, not at all. No one does.

There are new recruits every day, and the threat of adult tyranny continues to rise.

And I'm going to be replaced, and soon. Tomorrow, in fact. Tomorrow I hit that unforgivable age. Tomorrow I will be decommissioned.

I am Numbuh 362, supreme leader of the Kids Next Door.

Tomorrow is the day I die.

* * *

I was commissioned as a K.N.D. operative when I was six. Chad—no, Numbuh 274—saw potential in me. He was right. And as Supreme Leader, no one could oppose his rule.

There was no room for me. And no one thought I deserved to be there. I almost believed them. But then I remembered: Numbuh 274 saw me as promising. So I came through.

And when he betrayed us all, I stepped up. Only Fanny scoffed. But I promoted her then, too, so she couldn't complain.

We faced villains and near-death experiences frequently. But we always made it out alive. At least, I always did.

There are secrets hidden in the core of the Moon Base. I shouldn't have gone snooping around.


	2. Book

**Again, I do not own KND.**

It was after Numbuh 274 had planned to propel the base into the sun. I valued the base so much more after that.

Everyone was given the day off. The world wasn't going to be destroyed in a single day. It was highly unlikely.

I took my time. I'd never explored every inch of the base. It was too massive, and I was busy. But now that everyone had gone, I raised the security to the highest power and trudged down into the core.

The hallways were twisted and often tarnished by years of rust and dust. The deeper I got, the darker it was, and the more treacherous the terrain.

At some point, I stepped on a root.

Though I was confused, I continued. I was armed, and I was calm. There was nothing to worry about.

And then I met a door, made out of bark and gnarly vines. After shining a light around me, I realized everything was made out of the same thing.

It was a tree, or at least the shell of one.

I hesitated for the first time in years. And then I opened the door.

It was pitch black, save for a single red light flickering on the opposite end of the room. I took a step forward, when the door slid shut completely, shielding me inside.

A flashlight was turned on not six feet from where I stood, blinding me. Then I heard a voice.

"Guess you've lived up to my expectations, Rachel."

It was Chad. Not Numbuh 274. Not the Supreme Leader. Chad.

And I was alone in the core of the empty moonbase with him.

* * *

He flipped a switch I couldn't see, and the room was flooded with light. A twisted, rotting tree trunk marked the center of the room. And at the heart of its trunk, right where its many branches began, sat a book. Chad followed my eyes.

"You know what it is."

"How?"

"It's always been here, Rachel. It's been right under your feet the whole time."

I turned on him. "How did you know about it?"

"When I was Supreme Leader, I spent my first week exploring. You waited until your second month. Not too shabby," he'd said, smiling.

I made a move toward the tree, but Chad easily blocked me. "What do you want, Chad?"

He lowered his arm. "I want you to know the truth."

He put away his flashlight into a holster on his hip and turned to advance toward the book. I didn't stop him. For some reason, Chad having a hold of the most precious artifact of KND didn't phase me.

He flipped the book open as he returned. "It's funny, really, how everyone thinks it's a myth."

"I knew it was real," I said sharply. He licked his bottom lip and snapped the book closed.

Shaking his head, he sighed. "No, you didn't. You had to see it with your own eyes. Like the fourth flavor, you'd never believe in it if you hadn't seen it right now."

I bit back every snarky comment I brewed. It wouldn't help. I had to bide my time long enough to somehow call for backup. But how I would do that, I wasn't sure. I couldn't think far enough ahead.

To my surprise, Chad handed me the book, stiffly but willingly. "You're not going to like everything you read. Numbuh I's first account is in that book, you know."

Something occurred to me then, and I wasn't sure why it hadn't come sooner. "This isn't the book."

He genuinely looked surprised. "What?"

"Numbuh 1 found the book. Sector V's treehouse is the tree. I don't know what game you're playing, Chad, but whatever it is—"

"That's a copy."

"What?"

"The one Nigel found? It's a copy. Some of the pages were ripped out for the sole purpose of misleading any who found it. This is the real copy."

"And why would you give this to me? Why now? What are you planning?"

Sheepish, he bowed his head. "Nothing. For once, I'm doing this in your best interest."

"But why?"

"Because, one day, you'll be a teenager, too. And you'll forget this because you won't betray these snot-nosed brats. You'll grow up. But you'll save the world. You're the only one who can."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded. He wasn't making sense. He was the enemy, and he was being tame. It didn't add up.

He winked. "Read the book and find out." And with that, he waved once before flipping the switch. I scrambled for it, and by the time I hit it, he was gone. A flashlight lay on the ground below the switch.

In my hands, I held the greatest treasure of the KND.

And I didn't know how to handle it.

* * *

I spent the rest of the day reading. I didn't worry about Chad. I couldn't help it. I couldn't distrust him, even after everything he'd done.

He was the one who gave me the position, after all.

Page after page, gruesome accounts of adult tyranny were scribbled. Some pages were stained with tears, others with blood.

I was scared—not that I'd ever admit it.

But as I pored over each page, it began to dawn on me: nothing was getting better. Each tale was just as tragic as the last. Sure, there were accounts of triumph, but they were masked by the horrors which had been faced to achieve it. They were all awful.

All but the final entry.

But that didn't make sense at all.

The final entry was from my thirteenth birthday.

And I had written it.


	3. Tells

I won't repeat what it said. That would be too redundant. But it shook me.

I read on past the entry. There was one page behind it. It listed instructions. I supposed they were why Chad had returned. It was only me. I was the only one who could do the job.

I didn't want to.

I couldn't do what Chad did.

But I had to.

* * *

There are some things the leader has to keep to herself. I didn't want to, but I had to. I knew there would be consequences. But someone needs to know. It isn't the right time, not yet, but when this is found, hours or days after my death, action will be taken.

It must.

I can't afford another paradox on my hands. Not again.

* * *

I'm thirteen today. I wish I could celebrate.

There's a crowd at my doorway. They know I won't put up a fight. They're here to see me off.

I wish Fanny were here. I wish Numbuh 1 could walk me down. But I'm alone now. So maybe this is for the better.

The new decommissioning officer is nice, but I don't like him. He's trying to make this better, but he's only making this worse.

I've never seen such a gathering for a decommission. Everyone who isn't on duty back home is here. They look so solemn. It's awful.

If only they knew.

I get in position.

I wait.

Then I hear it.

A whistle.

I smile.

With a nod of appreciation toward the decommissioning officer, seeing as he begrudgingly supplied me with the means of my escape, I tug on my suit and helmet. Dancing away from the chamber, I turn back once to face the entire organization.

Their eyes are wide and full of fear. _Not you, too._ They've heard of Chad. They know. They can't deal with another betrayal.

But they don't know the truth.

And they never will.

I offer a sad smile and a wave farewell, biting back tears.

I slam my fist on the button beside me, and the door yawns wide.

I'm sucked out into the abyss.

The door closes immediately once I'm out.

I'm floating.

This is the day I die.

I had to.


	4. True

**(Sorry for extremely short thing...) I do not own KND.**

At some point in his travels, he'd come across a new technology.

Time travel.

And in the future, adult tyranny runs rampant. The Kids Next Door falls apart, and the teenagers are ridiculed and demeaned. Adults rule all.

That's where I come in.

Numbuh 1 and I are the only ones who can save the world now. That's what it says in this book.

And we're not going to fail.

We can't.

And we won't.

It's up to us.


	5. Tales

**FINAL REALLY SHORT UPDATE. Disclaimer: I do not own KND.**

My name is Rachel T. Mackenzie. I am Numbuh 362. I am the Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door—or at least I used to be.

I wrote the last entry in the Book of KND. I knew the future long before it came. I knew my fate.

This is the day the Kids Next Door will forever think I died.

This is the day Nigel Uno returned.

This is the day I escape.

This is the day we save the world.

And someday, it will be all right.


End file.
